Six images of Chinese wallpaper

Chinese wallpaper has been an important element of western interior decoration for three hundred years. As trade between Europe and China flourished in the seventeenth century, Europeans developed a strong taste for Chinese art and design. The stunningly beautiful wall coverings now known as Chinese wallpaper were developed by Chinese painting workshops in response to western demand.

Despite their spectacular beauty, Chinese wallpapers have not been studied by European scholars in any depth until relatively recently. Chinese Wallpaper in Britain and Ireland, by Emile de Bruijn, changes that. It provides an overview of some of the most significant surviving Chinese wallpapers in private and public ownership in the British Isles. Sumptuously illustrated, it shows how these wallpapers became a staple ingredient of high-end interiors.

Emile de Bruijn studied Japanese and museology at universities in Britain and the Netherlands. He worked in the Japanese and Chinese departments of the auctioneers Sotheby’s in London before joining the National Trust, a British organisation which protects the country’s architectural heritage. He is now a member of the National Trust’s central collections management team.

Chinese Wallpaper in Britain and Ireland was published yesterday, in celebration here are six images of gorgeous Chinese wallpapers.

Details: Chinese Wallpaper in Britain and Ireland is published by Philip Wilson Publishers, in hardback, priced in local currencies.